Visit to Kompong Trach

Hi dear reader!

It’s been such a long time again! All SLM’s ministral activities are in full swing as usual and there’s nothing new happening except for the trip some senior students and I made to KOMPONG TRACH last weekend. There were 12 of us including the driver. The senior students at SLM in my TOEFL class, decided to make a trip to Kompong Trach to explore some of the historical caves located in that area. We left SLM at 6:30 in the morning. The exploration team stopped over at Veil Rein and also at Kompot for breakfast and also for picking up some food to eat at our destination. To our ill luck, all meat stuffs were sold out in the market because just the other days there was a Chinese Festival which was celebrated all over Cambodia. Finally, the team got some food for the day. The team arrived at the destination around 11:00 am and straight away we were led into the caves by some local children and an old woman who posted themselves as the regular tourist guides there. They were explained to us about the caves.

The caves were so dark inside and kind of scarry as I have never been to that kind of places before. We used flash lights to see clearly inside the caves. However, the team members enjoyed exploring the caves. Our tour guides tried to explain to the visitors all they knew or thought about the objects/stones inside the caves. They showed us from the dragon tail, dragon body, giant tortoes, eel’s head, monkey, and general’s foot etc. Of course, what they tried to explain about what we saw had some semilarities but I don’t know if I had to believe them for they were not archeologists, hahahaha! According my understanding, they were trying to explain to us or to make us believe that those caves were a great zoo with many kinds of animals many, many years ago. But to me, it looked like many years ago, there was a volcanic erruption at this place which errupted right through the middle of a huge rocky mountain that help those caves to form with many different shapes of rocks

The children were given some tips by each of our team member. I did carry some medicines with me as I always do this whenever I go around the villages. When we made an announcement that we will have a free medical service for the people around there, almost everyone came to get medicines. They were 52 of them who were treated, including some old ladies (nuns) who were living in the pagoda by the caves. I was happy that we had enough medicines for everyone. The general sicknesses were headache, body pain, temperature, fever, caught, chest pain, physical weakness, and skin problems. Two elderly women had some women-related problem. The best thing I could do for them was to give them some antibiotics and to see professional medical doctors as early as possible.

The younger guys in our team visited some more caves nearby but I stayed in the van, exhousted after exploring the major cave and the medical treatment. You know what? Our team wanted to visit a watertfall at the end of our trip but I said, “NO WAY!” I needed to be backed at SLM as a very busy Sunday awaits us and I needed time to prepare some sermons and some medicines for another medical service at Khmer Christian Church the next day!

The bottom line is that, it was a good day with good experience. Our God is so wonderful and He created the world so beautiful with so many beautiful people on it!

2 Responses to “Visit to Kompong Trach”

I love to read the stories and testimonies of how God is moving in Cambodia! Remember, God has given many people the burden to pray for you and Cambodia! Keep up the good work and know you are not alone! Many Blessings – Pastor John – Milwaukee USA